68
First person
‘All you need to know about paddle
boarding is: keep your eyes fixed on
the horizon and avoid looking at
your feet or you’ll fall in.’ It was armed
with this advice from a fellow hotel guest
that I experienced one of those rare
moments we travel many miles for, and
spend thousands trying to create. Alone on
an Austrian lake, doing something I’d
never done before, I drank in a beautifully
balanced cocktail of excitement and contentment, intermingling with
pride and pleasure. I felt my shoulders slacken, my brow unfurrow and
a weight lift from my soul.
You know all those annoying people who urge us to be ‘in the
moment’? I finally knew what they meant. This shock of joy wasNo matter how many friends, family, kids or partners you have in your
life, spending time alone is not just a decadent luxury – it’s essential for
well-being and personal growth. Time to put yourself first, says Anna Hart
particularly precious, because two weeks
prior, the thought of being ‘present’, let
alone feeling pleasure, was unthinkable.
In the run-up to a deadline for
completing my book, I’d worked 14-hour
days and barely slept, and all my usual
self-care rituals that keep me sane – yoga,
running, eating well – had gone out the
window. They felt alien, like they would
never belong to me again; I felt like
a brittle husk of my former self, with
no glow to my skin, no conversation to
contribute, no spring in my step. My
suspension was shot, and I was rattled by
every little bump in the road of life.
Over my years as an international
reporter, however, I’ve learned how to fix
myself when I’m broken. I escape alone. It’s not just me – many women, regardless
of their responsibilities in life, are ‘prescribing’ themselves solo trips, too. A close
friend of mine, new mum to an 11-month-old baby, just spent her birthday alone
in a posh hotel – she and her husband agreed that what she needed most was
a date night with a minibar, Netflix and a bed to herself. Another friend, who runs
her own company with 15 employees, goes to a beach hotel in Turkey every spring
when the new financial year kicks in, where she sunbathes, swims and takes a few
hours each day to map out where she wants her business to go in the year ahead.
There are still some people out there who believe solo travel is a sort ofFIND
YOUR
SOLO
SPACE